1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image processing device and more particularly to a method for controlling the image processing device using a programming language for image processing, which is suitable to the control of the image processing device utilizing polygonal approximation processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been proposed two image processing methods, the pattern matching method and the SRI algorithm method, as a somewhat versatile and accordingly a kind of standard image processing algorithm which is directly related with pattern recognition, not with the filtering of an image and the inter-image operation.
The pattern matching method essentially requires a considerable amount of computation and therefore it is actually performed utilizing hardware in most cases and is not an object to be controlled by programming language. The SRI algorithm method does not have much flexibility in its flow of processing and permits only certain parameters to be changed. One of the image processing languages based on this SRI algorithm has been discussed in an article entitled, "Programming Vision and Robotics Systems with RAIL" RDBO TSVI, Conference Proceedings, Mar. 2-4, 1982, pp 392-406 Robotics International of SME. This language, however, permits only the parameters to be changed and the processing results to be referenced, and does not have any freedom in terms of the image processing procedure.
On the other hand, one example of the programming languages describing the flow itself of image processings has been discussed in an article entitled "AML/V: An Industrial Machine Vision Programming System". The International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1982. However, this language has only the instructions for performing elementary or basic processings, such as the inter-image operation, which are not directly related with pattern recognition and consequently, writing a recognition program using this language requires substantially the same amount of labor and knowledge as that required in the case of using other general purpose programming languages.